7 dead, 14 wounded in Ghazni’s Deh Yak battle

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Heavily armed Taliban insurgents stormed security posts in Deh Yak district of southern Ghazni province last night and the ensuing clash left seven dead and 14 wounded on both sides, police said Friday.

It was the third such attack from the resurgent Taliban in Rabat area of the district in less than a month, causing casualties to security forces in each attack.

Ghazni police chief Brig. Gen. Mohammad Zaman told Pajhwok Afghan News on Friday that a large number of militants attacked security posts in the area late last night.

He said six Taliban and one policeman were killed and 10 Taliban and four policemen were wounded in the firefight.

Local residents confirmed the hours-long clash, saying both the sides used heavy and light weapons.

Noor Rahman, one of the residents, said: “Many police suffered casualties after the Taliban came closer to the posts, in the morning more police arrived and they removed the dead and wounded.”

The Taliban claimed inflicting heavy casualties on government forces in Rabat where a base of the forces was attacked.

Their spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said 24 security personnel had been killed and their three armored vehicles and one pick up vehicle destroyed in the assault.

The Taliban have previously attacked security posts in the same area twice before the last night attack in about one month.

Separately, three suspected Taliban were killed in a blast caused by their own explosives in Khashk area of Ghazni City, the provincial capital, last night.

The provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Zaman, said the rebels were emplacing an improvised explosive device on the highway in Khashk area when it went off, causing the casualties.